Caledonia Wins Third Straight State Championship Title

(ABC 6 News)- The Caledonia Warriors are now the nine-time Class AA State Football Champions. The Warriors have been undefeated since 2014, and there was no stopping them in 2017.

Caledonia faced Pipestone Area high school on Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium in the state football championships and won in a dominating fashion, 57-6.

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"Going out on top is what we came here today to do, and I'm really excited we were able to accomplish that,” Senior quarterback Owen King said.

King tied former Triton quarterback Kirk Midthun's Prep Bowl record with six touchdowns (5 passing, 1 rushing), and completed 18 of 28 passes for 246 yards.

“We have multiple receivers that make plays,” King said.

One of those key receivers was senior Sam Barthel--Barthel led the Warriors with 103 receiving yards and three touchdowns on Friday.

“Being out the last three games really was hard and to play this game meant everything, I just wanted to go out with a bang with my senior brothers,” Barthel said.

He sure did, and so did the Warriors offense, as they totaled 422 yards and forced two turnovers. Senior running back Mason Staggemeyer led the Warriors in the run game with 83 yards, including a rushing touchdown in the third quarter to give the Warriors 50 points.

Their defense was also not to be overlooked as they were a huge component of this game, forcing Pipestone to finish with -11 total yards of offense.

“We came together, we did a good job all-around defense, I mean it wasn’t just our d-tackles or d-ends it was everyone,” Senior Offensive Lineman Spencer Stemper said.

“Everyone is special, like we always talk about we take every game very seriously and we’re very business-like and I try to remind our younger coaches when I was an assistant we were like a yo-yo so it’s very, very special and it doesn’t get old (winning a state title),” Head Coach Carl Fruechte said.

The Warriors have now won three consecutive Class AA championships for the second time in program history.